A Bloody Knight
by ILoveTea
Summary: CSI:NY meets Jane Austen. A man is murdered and the only witness is a bloody knight.
1. Chapter 1

**A Bloody Knight**

By ILoveTea

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Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY and CSI

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Chapter 1. Epilogue

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"No you won't!" She screamed as she pushed his shoulders. He fell forward, but stopped short before he hit the floor. She was stunned, and walked around. A waist-high statue of a knight on a horse, charging up a sword, kept him from falling. Large stains of red seeped through his shirt on the left side of his chest.

Wide-eyed, and at a standstill, she covered her mouth. The ringing sound of a phone caused her to look around. She realized the sound came from the dead man's cell phone, located in a pocket of his jacket. Slightly opening the door, the girl checked to see if anyone was in the hallway before walking out of the room. She wiped the door handle with her scarf, erasing traces of her fingerprints. Using her shoulders to push open the emergency exit, and shoving her scarf into her purse, she ran quickly down the stairs.

To be continued…

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A/N: I'm sure you know that the idea of a man falling onto a sword/statue is not an original idea. I took it from an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. I'm sorry to tell you that I don't remember what season. Next chapters will be longer. I promise.

Let me know what you think about this story. If you don't know what to say, just copy one of the templates below and paste it on the review window.

- I love it.

- I think this is okay.

- I don't like this.

A/N: I want to thank AJeff for her beta. Your help means a lot to me.


	2. Chapter 2

A Bloody Knight

By ILoveTea

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Chapter 2.

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Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY and Jane Austen's books

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CSI Lindsay Monroe stepped into the huge hotel lobby. She looked up at the enormous chandelier hanging down from the ceiling. Approaching her, Detective Don Flack followed her gaze, and chuckled. "Are you thinking on having one for your apartment? I don't think Danny will agree with you," he said, grinning.

The girl playfully hit him on the arm. "Are you crazy? I know it's worth more than our yearly combined salary. I was just admiring this beautiful work of art. So, what do we have here?"

Leading her into an elevator with four mirrored walls, Detective Flack pushed the button. "A 36 year-old deceased Caucasian male. George Wickham, a banker. Tomorrow would have been his wedding day, right here in this hotel," he said, checking his notes.

"What happened?" Lindsay asked.

"Stabbed by a knight," he said.

"What?"

He didn't reply. Stepping out of the elevator, they walked through a long corridor, then turned left. A few uniformed officers stood guard in front of an open door. Examining a bloody statue was Danny Messer.

"Hey, Danny." Lindsay tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

Turning, he smiled. "Montana! Nice to see you! I miss you! We haven't seen each other for...," he paused, glancing at his watch. "Two hours."

"I miss you, too," she said, returning the smile. Bending down, she took a closer look at the statue. The knight and his horse were made of marble, while the 15-inch sword appeared to have been made from some sort of metal, yet she was unsure because of the object having been covered with blood.

"So, the knight stabbed the victim with this?" she pointed.

"You can put it that way, yeah. But we can't charge a marble knight for committing murder," he chuckled. "Anyway, we won't know the cause of death for sure until Sid finishes the autopsy. The body's at the morgue," he paused, then continued. "I'll process this room. Take the emergency exit, then take samples from witnesses Flack had found."

"What about the elevator and the corridor?" she asked.

"Been there, done that."

"Okay, then." Lindsay straightened up, and surveyed the room. There were boxes stacked in one corner, a huge sofa, half a dozen tables and chairs in another, and a few similar-looking statues near the one Danny was working on.

"This is a strange place for a storage room," she said, turning to Flack. "Usually, it's in a basement, but this is the thirtieth floor. "I noticed that the other rooms in this floor are meeting rooms."

Flack placed his hands on his hips. "I thought so, too, but she said it's only temporary. They needed a place to store things for the wedding. The reception hall is right above us."

"She, who?" Lindsay frowned, and asked.

Flack nodded to a dark-haired woman talking on her cell phone who had been standing behind him. "That's Anne Elliot, the wedding planner. She found the body of the groom-to-be."

The wedding planner finished her conversation and tucked her phone in her dress pocket. Walking over to the woman, the female CSI agent had been surprised. Usually people disregarded a police officer's request to cut their phone conversation.

Lindsay introduced herself to the wedding planner. "I understand you were the one who found the body."

Miss Elliot nodded. "I needed more chairs in the ballroom so I came down here with one of my staff. When I opened the door I saw a man suspended a few inches above the floor."

"Did you touch the body?" Lindsay questioned.

"Yes. After I asked Rooke, my assistant to call 911, I walked over to the man. I felt for a pulse to see if he was still alive. But there was none. I recognized him as my client, Mr. Wickham," she said, in a calm voice.

"You asked your assistant to call 911 even before you knew what happened to him?" Lindsay asked.

With a dead pan look on her face and amusement tinged her voice she said, "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that something was wrong. He fell against a statue; there was a pool of blood beneath his body."

"I need to know the exact story. You won't mind giving us a sample of your fingerprints and DNA? For the process of elimination."

The wedding planner's eyes widened. "I'm a suspect?"

"Well, Miss Elliot, at this moment everyone is a suspect." Lindsay opened her kit.

"Just call me Anne," the woman told Lindsay.

An hour later, Lindsay found Flack in one of the meeting room interviewing Cassie Abbot, one of Anne's staff. The girl didn't need much encouragement before she spilled the gossip about people involved in the wedding.

"You know, the wedding planner was originally Blake Willoughby. Blake accepted the job because the bride-to-be is the sister-in-law of Will Darcy."

Lindsay chipped in, "Darcy? As in William Darcy, the owner of this hotel?"

Cassie nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes. He's also the owner of Pemberley Real Estates, Pemberley Construction, and many other companies. You name it." She paused to take a breath before continuing. "When Will told him that there was a limited fund for this wedding, Blake lost interest, handing it down to Anne. It was not the first time that he did something like that. And I must tell you, she's a great wedding planner. Her weddings were just as memorable and beautiful as the ones managed by "The Great" Blake Willoughby himself."

"Where is Mr. Willoughby?" Flack asked.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "All I know is he's going to do another celebrity wedding in Italy."

"So, he never came here?" Flack asked.

"No, as far as I know of. But nobody missed him. I think Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy prefers to have Anne here rather than Blake. They were school friends back in England."

She leaned toward Flack and said in a conspiring tune, "You didn't hear this from me, but back then Anne was much wealthier than her friend. Her father is a baronet, you see. But there was no grudge or whatsoever between them. Elizabeth is Anne's friend, no matter how much money they have."

Flack turned the conversation toward the case. "What about Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham? Was there any grudge between them? You said Mr. Darcy paid for the wedding, but only provided a limited amount of money."

Cassie leaned back in her chair. She smiled. "You cannot be more right. The gossip is Will Darcy was jealous of George Wickham because his father loved him more than his own son. George's father was the late Mr. Darcy's butler. As boys, Will and George were raised together. But after Mr. Darcy died, Will kicked George out of the house."

Cassie continued. "I don't want to talk bad about a dead man, but there were also rumors that George Wickham was a vicious man indeed. There were rumors that he was bankrupt. The only reason he was going to marry Lydia Bennet was because of her connections with Darcy."

To be continued.

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A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Let me know what you think about this one. If you don't know what to say, just copy one of the templates below and paste it on the review window.

- I love it.

- I think this is okay.

- I don't like this.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Bloody Knight**

By ILoveTea

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Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY and Jane Austen

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Chapter 3.

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Danny looked up from the microscope. "So, Will Darcy has motives."

They were back at the CSI Lab examining the evidence they had collected at the crime scene.

Lindsay replied. "But he did pay for the wedding. If you're going to kill a man, why would you spend money on him?"

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he didn't plan to kill him, you know, not premeditated. It just happened."

"He has an alibi around time of death. He was at a board meeting at his office a few blocks away. His secretary and Board of Directors confirmed his whereabouts."

"What about his wife? Elizabeth Darcy? Maybe she didn't want her sister to fall for a jerk like Wickham, and decided that desperate situations called for desperate measures," Danny rambled.

Lindsay shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Cassie Abbot said Elizabeth Darcy was the one who persuaded her husband to let them have the wedding at his hotel. She may not like her sister's choice for a husband, but she loves her sister. She wouldn't do this to Lydia Bennet."

Stella entered the room. "Tell me something new."

"We're going to have a boy," Danny blurted out.

Lindsay smacked him hard on his arm.

"Hey, that hurts," he said, rubbing his arm.

She glared at him.

"We've talked about this, remember?" he said to her, feigning innocence.

"Yeah, but..." Lindsay said, but was cut short. Stella hugged her.

"Congrats. Do you already have a name for him?"

"No," Lindsay and Danny said, looking at each other. "But we're considering a few options."

"It's all up to you. But I do have some suggestions." Stella's lips turned into a wide grin. She turned her head toward the evidence. "Enough playing around. Now tell me what we have here."

Danny's expression turned sour. "I found prints on the statues, including the bloody one, but they were from the hotel employees. They were the ones who moved the statues from the ballroom upstairs the day before. Apparently, the marble knights didn't fit in with the wedding decoration."

Stella queried. "What about the door? Did you find anything?"

"The door itself was full of prints. But on the door knob, I only found Anne Elliot's prints." Danny showed her the fingerprint, and the reference sample Anne had given to Lindsay. "But she claimed she opened the door and found the victim. The killer might have wiped it clean before he left so we only found Elliot's print." He took a picture of the crime scene floor and pointed it out. "There's a smear of blood here, near the pool of blood. Maybe our killer stepped on it before he left. I didn't find any usable prints on the emergency exit door, but I did find a faint smear of blood on the stairs. Unfortunately, the tracks stopped at the 28th floor. I think the killer stepped out to the corridor. The janitor must have cleaned his tracks.

Stella sighed. "So, now we only have to find the person who wore a bloody shoe at the hotel last night."

Lindsay held something between her tweezers. "Maybe we can narrow it down. Danny found this near one of the boxes in the room. It looks like a diamond, but it isn't. This is fake. There's a trace of red substance at the surfaces and edges. I think it's blood. I've sent a sample to trace to make sure. If we can find someone who lost a stone from his or her jewelry, we'll find the killer."

Stella opened a folder she had been carrying. "I have the victim's toxin report. High alcohol level. Sid had said it's easy even for a woman to push a man George Wickham's size."

"So, the killer could have been a woman. Still, we need more details," Danny said.

"Adam is already processing the hotel's security camera. Hopefully we'll find something," Stella told the others.

Lindsay entered the audio visual room in search of Adam.

"I have something," Adam said.

Lindsay's face lit up. "What is it?"

He played a tape from the hotel's security camera. "This is from the elevator two hours before the body was found, the last time George Wickham was seen alive. See that? He entered alone, getting off on the thirtieth floor."

Adam showed her another tape. "Five minutes later a woman entered another elevator from the lobby. See that? She's fixing her hair. She got off on the thirtieth floor, then she was captured on camera forty minutes later entering the elevator from the 28th floor, going straight to the lobby."

"There are only conference rooms on the thirtieth floor," Lindsay said. "The hotel manager said none of them were used that day and all of them were locked, except the one which had been used for storage for the wedding. We can assume the mysterious lady was there to meet George Wickham?"

Adam agreed. "Yes, it is possible."

"There were blood smears on the stairs from the thirtieth all the way to the 28th floor. This woman can be our suspect," Lindsay added. She pondered for a moment, then asked. "What about the tapes from the night of Lydia Bennet's bachelorette party? Do you have them, too? It was two days ago, in a restaurant at the same hotel. I think it's called G's, on the second floor."

Adam rummaged through the stack of tapes on the table. He found what he had been looking for. "What time was the bachelorette party? Nine? Okay, here we go; the view to the entrance of G's."

They watched the tape for a while until Lindsay pointed to the screen. "There! That's her! I know it's only her back, but I'm sure it's her. Just look at how she moved her hand to fix her hair."

"I'm not sure," Adam doubted.

"I know. Let's see when she exited the restaurant. Can you find her?"

He further played the tape, then paused the video. "Look, this is the best picture of her. She's partially hidden by other people. The cameras in the elevator and lobby don't help much."

"Adam, can you get a clear shot of her in the elevator at the day of the murder? I'm going to ask Miss Bennet. Maybe she knows that woman," Lindsay said.

He worked on the tape. Five minutes later, he handed a picture of the mysterious woman to her.

Thanking him, Lindsay walked out of the room.

To be continued…

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A/N: Afrozenheart412, thank you for your reviews. Dear readers, let me know what you think about this one. If you don't know what to say, just copy one of the templates below and paste it on the review window.

- I love it.

- I am intrigued.

- I think this is okay.

- I don't like this.

A/N: I thank my beta, AJeff, for her great works.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Bloody Knight**

By ILoveTea

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Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY and Jane Austen

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Chapter 4.

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Lindsay had been ushered into an elegantly furnished sitting room. An elegant woman entered a few minutes later. They shook hands and the hostess waved her manicured hand to one of the chairs.

"Nice to see you again, Detective," she said. "Please take a seat. Have you found the murderer?"

Lindsay cleared her throat. "The investigation is not yet finished, Mrs. Darcy. I'm here to ask a couple of questions. I understand that your sister, Lydia Bennet, lives with you. Could I see her?"

Mrs. Darcy sighed. "She stayed with us only for the wedding. But she's no longer here. My mother thought Lydia needed a change of place to overcome her grief. They are at our house in the Hamptons."

The butler entered to serve tea, then left the room immediately.

"What is it that you want to ask Lydia? Perhaps I can help you." Mrs. Darcy offered her a cup of tea. "If it's important, I'll summon her here."

The CSI agent showed a picture to the hostess. Mrs. Darcy's eyes widened upon viewing the photograph.

Her eyes were beautiful, Lindsay thought.

"What has this girl got to do with George's murder?" Mrs. Darcy questioned.

"She had gone to the thirtieth floor not long after George Wickham. She might have seen someone else with him. We're hoping she can give us any information that may help our investigation."

Mrs. Darcy inhaled, then softly exhaled. "I know this girl. Penny Sheperd is her name. I believe she was in Lydia's senior class in high school. I never cared for the girl."

"Why?"

"She was a bad influence on my sister. Married a no-gooder named Clay, divorced him when he went to prison for robbery." Taking a moment to breathe, she then continued. "I also heard rumors that she was once George's lover. I had mentioned it to Lydia, but she dismissed it. George had said that she was the only one he really loved."

"Could I have Penny's address?"

Mrs. Darcy shook her head. "I don't think she appeared on our guest list." She tapped the spoon against her tea cup. "Perhaps Anne could help you. Some years back, Penny had been close with Anne's older sister...lived with her family. That was until Lady Russell returned to England from Italy. She married Sir Walter Elliot, and that was the end of Penny."

To be continued.

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A/N: Sorry for the long update. I had a busy time at the office. Afrozenheart412, rockyshadow, JavaJunkie4ever & laurzz, thank you for your reviews.

Dear readers, let me know what you think about this one. If you don't know what to say, just copy one of the templates below and paste it on the review window.

- I love it.

- I am intrigued.

- I think this is okay.

- I don't like this.

A/N: As always, I thank my beta, AJeff, for her great works.


	5. Chapter 5

**A Bloody Knight**

By ILoveTea

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Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY and Jane Austen

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Chapter 5.

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Lindsay loved the wedding planner's office. The room was not quite spacious, but it brought comfort to anyone who entered. Through a large window, a breathtaking view of Central Park completed the beautiful atmosphere. A painting of a large estate surrounded by a lovely garden added to the beauty of the decor.

Anne had been in conference with clients regarding their upcoming wedding plans. They were seated on a sofa with a large coffee table fronting them. The wedding planner sat at her desk, while the future bride and groom leafed through the many albums and portfolios of wedding themes.

Rising from her chair, Anne welcomed her guest. "Hello, Detective Monroe. It's nice to see you again. How can I help you?"

Lindsay explained her visit, handing a picture to her.

"Yes, I know her. She's Penny Sheperd. She was not invited to the wedding at first. But Lydia extended an invitation when she appeared at the bachelorette party."

"Do you have her current address and phone number?"

Anne pondered for a moment. "I'm sorry, I don't have her address, nor do I know her phone number. But I will ask my sister. She might possibly know. I'll call her as soon as I can. We're several hours away from England."

"Do you have any documentation of that party? Any picture or video?" Lindsay asked.

Anne replied with a nod. "Yes, we do. The pictures are private property. Elizabeth had called before you arrived. She said the family is willing to cooperate with the police...to know the identity of the murderer."

Excusing herself for a brief moment, Anne returned with the DVD. "This is the video of the bachelorette party. It's an unedited version."

Lindsay nodded and thanked her host. "I hope we'll find something in here that can help us with the investigation."

To be continued.

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A/N: This is a short chapter. I'll post Chapter 6 soon. Afrozenheart412, rockyshadow, thank you for your reviews.

Dear readers, let me know what you think about this one. If you don't know what to say, just copy one of the templates below and paste it on the review window.

- I love it.

- I am intrigued.

- I think this is okay.

- I don't like this.

A/N: To AJeff, my beta, I offer you my sincere gratitude. My story is so much better because of you. Thank you.


	6. Chapter 6

**A Bloody Knight**

By ILoveTea

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Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY and Jane Austen

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Chapter 6

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"Adam!" Lindsay called out to her colleague. The man turned his head and stopped in front of the Audio Visual Room.

He grinned. "By the look on your face, I'm guessing you have something good."

Lindsay handed him the DVD. "Lydia Bennett's bachelorette party, the uncut edition, courtesy of the wedding planner."

They watched the girls at the party as they laughed and drank, when Lindsay exclaimed. "Stop! Go back a few frames. That's it. Look at the girl sitting on the bar stool. That's her, right? When she reached up to tuck in strands of loose hair, I can see glints of light on her fingertips."

Adam squinted. He zoomed in on the girl. "You're right. There was something shiny on her nails. What do you think that is?"

Lindsay smiled smugly. "A diamond. Let's check the rest of the video. See if we can find a better picture of her."

A better image of the girl had been found of her laughing at something. She put a hand to cover her mouth.

Lindsay pointed to the screen. "Look, she's wearing fake fingernails with tiny diamonds on the tips. I'm sure she was also wearing them on the night of the murder. It's similar to the one I found at the crime scene."

Adam disagreed. "But we have her on tape from the elevator camera. We didn't see any glint of light on her fingers."

"The video quality from that surveillance camera was not very good. Maybe that's why we didn't see it," Lindsay said.

"I think the picture of her at the party and the fake diamond I found at the crime scene are enough to get us a warrant to search her place." Lindsay paused. "I'll be on it, as soon as I can get her address from Anne Elliot."

To be continued.

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A/N: It seems my chapters kept getting shorter and shorter. Be patient, readers, just 2 more chapters. For my next story, I'm thinking of doing another Pretender fanfic.

rockyshadow, saturn567, thank you for your reviews.

Dear readers, let me know what you think about this one. If you don't know what to say, just copy one of the templates below and paste it on the review window.

- I love it.

- I am intrigued.

- I think this is okay.

- I don't like this.

A/N: My gratitude to AJeff, my beta. I could never thank you enough.


	7. Chapter 7

**A Bloody Knight**

By ILoveTea

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Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY and Jane Austen

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Chapter 7

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Adam found Lindsay and Danny in the lab with evidence from their current case spread on a large table in front of them.

Adam greeted his colleagues. "What's up? You don't look happy. We have our suspect, right?"

Lindsay shook her head. "Penny Sheperd denied everything. She claimed that Wickham had called her and asked to meet in one of the conference rooms on the thirtieth floor. Not the one in which we found the victim. But when she arrived there, the mentioned room was locked. She tried to call his cell phone, but got no answer. She then went to the 28th floor to see her friend who had a room there. That friend confirmed her statement."

Adam asked, "But why did she use the stairs?"

"She said the elevator took forever so she decided to use the stairs instead."

Adam was not to be discouraged. "But how about the diamond? And the smear of blood?"

Danny looked up. "We checked all her shoes but found no trace of blood. It's either she threw them out or she didn't step on the blood."

He held an evidence bag up. "We also found her fake nails. The diamonds are all there."

Lindsay added, "She claimed she didn't wear them on the night of the murder."

Adam handed them a folder. "In that case, I have good news. I found a new suspect for you."

Danny and Lindsay were surprised. The female CSI was the first to speak. "What do you mean?"

Adam grinned as he opened the folder and pulled out a picture. "I found another girl at the party who also wore fake fingernails with diamonds."

Danny's eyes were wide with amazement. "That is Penny Sheperd's friend who stayed on the 28th floor."

Adam whistled. "What a convenient coincidence. What's her name?"

It was Lindsay's turn to answer. "Mary Crawford."

To be continued.

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A/N: What do you think? Is it an interesting cliff hanger? rockyshadow & afrozenheart412, thank you for your reviews.

Dear readers, let me know what you think about this one. If you don't know what to say, just copy one of the templates below and paste it on the review window.

- I love it.

- I am intrigued.

- I think this is okay.

- I don't like this.

A/N: To my beta, AJeff, thank you. I can't wait to read you latest Pretender fanfic.


	8. Chapter 8

**A Bloody Knight**

By ILoveTea

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Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY and Jane Austen

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Chapter 8

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"Detective Flack?" A female voice called his name.

Flack turned around to find an elegant woman standing before him. He was captivated by a pair of beautiful brown eyes. He opened his mouth, but no sound came, so he just nodded his head. The woman introduced herself as Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy and she asked to speak with him in private. He showed her an empty interrogation room. She reluctantly entered and sat on a chair.

She let out a nervous laugh. "This is not what I had in mind, but I guess this will do."

Flack, who finally found his voice, expressed his apologies and asked whether she would like some refreshment. She declined. Flack sat opposite his guest and inquired why she wanted to see him.

"I'm sure you already know that my husband had asked your superior officers to keep this case low profile. We don't want any unwanted attention towards our family." She paused. "But I need to know what really happened and what I should tell my sister."

Flack cleared his throat. "You may be aware that we had arrested Mary Crawford. We will charge her on second degree murder. We found evidence that put her in the same room as George Wickham when he fell. We also have her signed confession."

"What was her motive? Why would she kill George?"

"Apparently while he was planning his marriage with your sister, Wickham also had, not just one, but two affairs. He had sexual relationships with Penny Sheperd and Mary Crawford. According to Crawford's statements, Wickham was going to end the affairs because he didn't want your sister to find out. He couldn't risk jeopardizing his connection to the Darcy family."

Mrs. Darcy was clearly stunned. "So, he was after our money. He wanted to marry Lydia because of his greed, not out of love?"

Flack nodded. "Apparently so."

"Is that why that woman killed George?" Mrs. Darcy asked the detective.

Flack shook his head. "She claimed she didn't intentionally kill him. They had a fight and she accidentally pushed him. He fell right on to the sword."

Mrs. Darcy was silent for a moment. She then rose from her chair and shook Flack's hand. "Thank you, Detective. I trust that you will not leak the details of this case to the media? My sister already has had enough emotional blows. I don't want her to watch the 6 o'clock news that George had affairs with her friends."

Flack gave her a reassuring smile. "I promise to do my best, Ma'am."

After Mrs. Darcy left the room, Flack flopped back down against his chair and thought of what a lucky man William Darcy had been.

FIN.

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A/N:

rockyshadow: I've tried writing Lindsay and Danny in the last chapter, but it it just didn't work, so I used Flack instead.

afrozenheart412: We'll just assume that Penny didn't just walk off easily from the case.

Dear readers, let me know what you think about this one. If you don't know what to say, just copy one of the templates below and paste it on the review window.

- I love it.

- I think this is okay.

- I don't like this.

A/N: Lots of thanks for AJeff, my beta. I hope we can work together again soon on another project.


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